Contract awarded for Irish Battlefields Project

Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government today (8 Mar 08) announced the award of a contract for the Irish Battlefields Project. The contract was awarded to the joint consultancy of Headland Archaeology Ltd. and Eneclann Ltd. The consultants will prepare reports and undertake historical and archaeological research on key Irish battles and battlefields.

The Minister said “The key outcome of this project will be a clear vision on how to protect and sustain this important element of our historic environment. It will also help the public to understand and better appreciate the history that has shaped our nation”.

The project is being undertaken against the backdrop of a growing awareness of, and interest in, battlefield sites not just in Ireland but worldwide. Most battlefield sites have evolved into their present-day usage ranging from agriculture, to dwellings, industry, etc. and have been fragmented by boundaries, differing land ownerships and infrastructure. As such battlefields are a complex and intriguing area for study, which have not to date been researched in any great depth in Ireland. Equally there is a need to provide information and to promote the conservation and interpretation of these sites. There are also significant educational and amenity aspects to this project. These issues need to be identified in the context of the archaeology of each battle site.

Minister Gormley stated “The project brief has been designed to be tightly focussed on key finite deliverables that can be managed and measured within a clear timeframe. The project will investigate the reliability of the detailed evidence for identified battles with documentary evidence being supplemented as necessary by archaeological, topographical and landscape studies”.

The project will be completed by the end of 2008. The report of the project which will be submitted to the Minister will assist in identifying whether, or in what way, statutory protection should be afforded to battlefield sites under the National Monuments Acts 1930 – 2004 within the ongoing consolidation and modernisation of this legislative code.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Headland Archaeology Ltd is a firm of archaeological consultants and contractors established in 1996 in Scotland with a subsidiary company established in Ireland in 2000. The company offers a wide range of archaeological services including consultancy, desk-based assessment, field survey and testing, architectural survey, excavation and a variety of specialist post-excavation analyses.

Eneclann Ltd, founded in 1998, is an award winning Trinity College Campus Company providing a range of consultancy services related to the historical and heritage field with three distinct areas of business operations: Historical Research (including heritage projects, house histories and genealogical research), E- Publishing & Digitisation and Archive & Records Management

The combined resources of the two companies bring together the requisite interdisciplinary expertise combining historical documentary and archaeological evidence that has proven increasingly effective at accurately placing the action within the contemporary terrain of the battlefield. The companies will draw on a range of academic consultants in liaison with members of the Advisory Panel which was appointed to assist the project and which has provided a working list of battles to be examined and refined by the Headland/Eneclann consortium.

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